Tuesday, September 04, 2012

The great German free jazz saxophonist Peter Brotzmann (also playing clarinet and tarogato on this album) is joined by Masahiko Satoh on piano and Takeo Moriyama on drums on this exciting and frequently thrilling album which was recorded in November of 2011 in Krakow, Poland. The title track “Yatagarasu” leads off the album with wailing saxophone, piano and drums. It’s interesting to hear Brotzmann perform with a pianist, something that I have rarely heard him do. He even drops out, allowing for a piano and drums section before picking up the thread of conversation. This isn’t just slash and burn experience, but music that moves through different motifs and expressions. Brotzmann’s instantly identifiable sound conquers all, leading toward brilliant sections of interplay. The epic “Icy Spears” opens with the raw cries of Brotzmann’s torogato moving into full improvisation with the group. He moves to saxophone as the music moves into a jazzy and sultry feel before subtly rising back up with cries of passion, culminating in full bore free improvisation. This long performance is all about dynamism, from a flowing solo piano section to long lines of torrid free saxophone and drums interacting. They close of the performance with two shorter pieces, “Autumn Drizzle” and Frozen Whistle” with the former developing from probing piano and drums through to epic squeals and wails of saxophone, while the latter acts as a haunting coda to a most intense and impressive performance. Yatagarasu - amazon.com